
Idea Man
A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft
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Narrated by:
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Sean Runnette
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By:
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Paul Allen
About this listen
By his early 30s, Paul Allen was a world-famous billionaire - and that was just the beginning.
In 2007 and 2008, Time named Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft, one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since he made his fortune, his impact has been felt in science, technology, business, medicine, sports, music, and philanthropy. His passion, curiosity, and intellectual rigor - combined with the resources to launch and support new initiatives - have literally changed the world.
In 2009 Allen discovered that he had lymphoma, lending urgency to his desire to share his story for the first time. In this classic memoir, Allen explains how he has solved problems, what he's learned from his many endeavors - both the triumphs and the failures - and his compelling vision for the future. He reflects candidly on an extraordinary life.
The book also features previously untold stories about everything from the true origins of Microsoft to Allen's role in the dawn of private space travel (with SpaceShipOne) and in discoveries at the frontiers of brain science. With honesty, humor, and insight, Allen tells the story of a life of ideas made real.
©2011 Paul Allen (P)2011 PenguinListeners also enjoyed...
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Bill Gates, whose vision of the personal computer propelled Microsoft into one of the world's leading companies, astonished the business community in 1996 by abruptly reinventing his entire company around the Internet. He explains why the Internet has revolutionized not just Microsoft but everything else too - and at a faster pace than even he had anticipated.
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This book is no longer relevant
- By Krishna Aleti on 01-26-15
By: Bill Gates
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Bill Gates
- Biography of a Business Legend and Philanthropist
- By: Steven Eckard
- Narrated by: John York
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Gates is one of the world’s richest men and an undeniable legend in both software and business. Now, this biography is here to peer into the life and career of this incredible entrepreneur. In this detailed account of Bill Gates’ life, you’ll discover everything from how his childhood and years at Harvard shaped how he attained success to the founding of the now-famous Microsoft and the Windows software that changed the world and paved his way to becoming a billionaire.
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Lots about early computer development, too
- By MolllyT on 02-08-20
By: Steven Eckard
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Once upon Atari
- How I Made History by Killing an Industry
- By: Howard Scott Warshaw
- Narrated by: Howard Scott Warshaw
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Once upon Atari is an intimate view into the dramatic rise and fall of the early video game industry, and how it shaped the life of one of its key players. This book offers eye-opening details and insights delivered in a creative style that mirrors the industry it reveals. An innovative work from one of the industry’s original innovators.
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Awesome
- By Aaron Valdes on 07-22-23
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The Soul of a New Machine
- By: Tracy Kidder
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Computers have changed since 1981, when Tracy Kidder memorably recorded the drama, comedy, and excitement of one company's efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market. What has not changed is the feverish pace of the high-tech industry, the go-for-broke approach to business that has caused so many computer companies to win big (or go belly up), and the cult of pursuing mind-bending technological innovations.
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Reading this book changed my life
- By Timothy Knox on 08-12-16
By: Tracy Kidder
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No Better Time
- The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet
- By: Molly Knight Raskin
- Narrated by: Christine Marshall
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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No Better Time tells of a young, driven mathematical genius who wrote a set of algorithms that would create a faster, better Internet. It's the story of a beautiful friendship between a loud, irreverent student and his soft-spoken MIT professor, of a husband and father who spent years struggling to make ends meet only to become a billionaire almost overnight with the success of Akamai Technologies, the Internet content delivery network he cofounded with his mentor.
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An Overlooked Hero of 9-11
- By Jean on 05-27-16
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The Everything Store
- Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
- By: Brad Stone
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But its visionary founder, Jeff Bezos, wasn't content with being a bookseller. He wanted Amazon to become the everything store, offering limitless selection and seductive convenience at disruptively low prices. To do so, he developed a corporate culture of relentless ambition and secrecy that's never been cracked. Until now.
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Did you know how bad it is to work for Amazon?
- By Shamu from New York on 12-07-13
By: Brad Stone
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Masters of Doom
- How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
- By: David Kushner
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to produce the most notoriously successful game franchises in history - Doom and Quake - until the games they made tore them apart. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry.
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How it was
- By Ryan on 08-27-13
By: David Kushner
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The Nvidia Way
- Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant
- By: Tae Kim
- Narrated by: Michael Braun
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Nvidia is the darling of the age of artificial intelligence: the company’s chips are powering the generative-AI revolution, and demand is insatiable. For all the current interest and attention, however, Nvidia is not of our time. Founded more than three decades ago in a Denny’s in East San Jose, for years it was known primarily in the then-niche world of computer gaming. In fact, the company’s leather-jacketed leader, Jensen Huang, is the longest-serving CEO in an industry marked by near constant turmoil and failure.
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Don’t Buy This Book Be Forewarned
- By Susan Hess on 12-25-24
By: Tae Kim
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Never Enough
- From Barista to Billionaire
- By: Andrew Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Once a barista in a small cafe making $6.50 an hour, Andrew Wilkinson built a business valued at over a billion dollars by the time he was 36—and yet, his path to success was anything but a straight line. In Never Enough, Wilkinson pulls back the curtain on the lives of the ultra-rich, sharing insights into building a successful business that has been called a “Berkshire Hathaway, but for internet companies,” and a surprising first-person account of what it's actually like to become a billionaire.
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Fire Your Ghostwriter
- By Leah C. Day on 08-22-24
By: Andrew Wilkinson
What listeners say about Idea Man
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- Jose
- 10-04-15
Good inspirational book.
Paul Allen tell his story of his life before and after Microsoft. it's a very inspirational book that shows not only what to do but what not to do in business and in life.
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- Amadeo
- 05-25-12
The part about Microsoft is good
Any additional comments?
Great account of Microsoft's early years. Too bad it is only a third of the book. The rest is about Allen's other activities, which are not so interesting.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Henry
- 06-21-13
More than just Microsoft
If you could sum up Idea Man in three words, what would they be?
Empathetic, insightful, intriguing
What did you like best about this story?
It was more than just Microsoft. It gave you insight into what seemed like the human side of Microsoft as well as other parts of Paul Allen's life.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
...more than code.
Any additional comments?
A good read to learn about the cofounder of Microsoft and many other companies, foundations, and ideas.
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- LUIS DEPAVIA
- 02-08-25
Engaging, biographical and technical
Describes the mix of technological conditions, skills and opportunity that led to the inception of Microsoft. Paul Allen was certainly on par to Bill Gates. The narrator does a superb job in this audiobook.
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- Dale Sarver
- 08-28-20
great story about Paul allen
this is his auto biography. it starts in his youth ang goes thru his Microsoft years in to his later life. he talks about his investments, his music, meeting celebrities, making and losing money, traveling the world, his illness and his philanthy.
I was impresses by his mind and diversity..
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- Steve
- 06-28-22
Paul seems impressed with himself
I think what you get from this book if you read between the lines is that Paul was no different than any other engineer of the era, but was at the right place at the right time, but didn't have the true ambition that a gates or steve jobs did. But he got rich and cashed out. He fancies himself as something extraordinary from a technology standpoint but was really just a competent engineer.
But he got lucky and got rich... And is quite impressed with himself and how when you have billions of dollars you can buy friends and experiences.
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- Nicholas Newsad
- 12-29-15
A great biography
Some of the most brilliant people keep a low profile, so it was fascinating to get an inside look at Paul's life and career.
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- Dustin
- 12-02-11
Pretty good
This biography was a mixed bag. The parts about Allen's relationship with Bill Gates before Microsoft, and about his time working at Microsoft, were great. It really makes you realize how intergel Microsoft was at the time. They were involved with so much, listening to Allen talk about it was almost like reading Fire In The Valley. It was like hearing a complete early history of personal computers. When Allen finishes talking about Microsoft he gives his take on the computer industry, and it's pretty awesome to hear his perspective on the industry today. I really enjoyed these parts of the book. With that said, the beginning, before Allen meets Gates, and the parts about owning a basketball team and the non-tech investments he made after Microsoft were incredibly boring. I couldn't take it and ended up skipping these chapters. Finally near the end he starts talking about his tech investments. This part wasn't bad, but his involvement with his tech investments are never as interesting as his involvement with Microsoft. It really makes you wonder if he was as passionate about these investments as he was about Microsoft. Overall I'd say if you're into tech like I am then reading this is a no-brainer... you'll just end up skipping the boring parts like me. The parts I mentioned that were interesting are well worth the price tag.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Joe Smith
- 12-03-18
Great Book
This was a great book and Paul Allen was a good man! This book was a good telling of the history of the Personal Computer and Paul's life.
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- WireKAT
- 11-01-18
Never knew I had so much in common
Great listen. I liked him before and now I think we were brothers from a different mother.
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